Jenkins grew up watching Dawkins, a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist who spent 13 of his 16 NFL seasons in Philly. He marveled at how the star safety redefined the position with fearless and athleticism, how Dawkins could deliver a bone-crushing, attention-grabbing hit one play before sprinting across the field to snag a graceful interception the next.

But as Jenkins continues to fill his role as Eagles captain and tone setter entering Super Bowl week, he said he's often tried to avoid watching old clips of Dawkins on the field. He doesn't want to study Dawkins' fiery pregame speeches or motivational tactics either.

The theory is simple: Jenkins had learned that Dawkins' success as a leader and a player was bred from genuineness. So the best way to emulate Dawkins isn't to mimic him, Jenkins said. It's to find a unique source of energy.

"You look at somebody like B Dawk, the emotion he brought to the game was something that you don't see every day, and it's even tough to get there," said Jenkins, whose Eagles will play the Patriots in Super Bowl 52 on Sunday. "A lot of that comes from his personality, his life, what's he's been through, what it's taken to get to this point. And so I try not to compare the two. I have my own emotion, I play with passion and excitement, because this game is fun. It takes that to play, especially the safety position."

Jenkins has embraced the task of addressing the team in huddles before games this year and in the locker room afterward. The Eagles often share footage on social media of the raw pleas Jenkins offers when teammates gather around him, eyes locked on a leader who demands attention.

It's also easy to find hype videos starring Dawkins, who exudes a similar brash and urgent tone as Jenkins, though he hasn't suited up for an NFL game in more than six years.

Despite the similarities, Jenkins said he draws on his own experience and thoughts when speaking to the team. He doesn't model his approach after Dawkins.

That's not to say he doesn't value advice from one of the franchise's icons. Dawkins, a football operations executive with the Eagles, has spent time around the team after practices and chats with players during downtime at the NovaCare Complex.

Jenkins, a nine-veteran, has been able to extract a variety of lessons from his discussions with Dawkins.

"The biggest thing I've been able to take from B Dawk, especially this year, is how every play is an opportunity to impact the game, whether it's to punish the guy with the ball or take the ball away or a bunch of ways that I hadn't really thought about," Jenkins said. "So it's just that awareness on every single play of how you can impact the game."

Jenkins wants to affect games in the same manner Dawkins did, particularly in the most important contests, like the one looming this weekend at Minneapolis' U.S. Bank Stadium. That doesn't mean he'll bring Dawkins' intensity to the field, though.

"It's so hard to even match that," Jenkins said with a smile. "I don't want to get into the comparison game."